U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, in his recent ruling that Alabama's abortion law must go to trial, raises the interesting issue of an "undue burden" on pregnant women. Imagine that. Bringing the focus around to women.

As conservatives attempt to criminalize a broader range of actions in attempts to grant legal personhood to unborn children, and thus create a stronger argument against safe, legal abortion, a case in Mississippi is at center stage.

Despite the progress women have made in the last several decades, they are still treated like second-class citizens in all the ways that matter. Caring about the equal treatment of women in society doesn't make people feminists -- it makes them good humans.

The senator thinks women who use birth control are doing so to be irresponsible. How is that even possible? Controlling your fertility is the most fiscally and morally responsible thing you can do as a woman.

Will a few states rule the United States? Or fundamentally change it? And if so, who are the winners and losers? Depending on your point of view, this "laboratory-of-the-states" business is good news today... or not.

After the insurance company first denied me birth control, I made an appointment with the Human Resources director. I assumed it was a problem with the insurance company. Boy, was I wrong. The director told me that birth control is something the university should never be expected to cover, and that I should be more responsible for my reproduction and "proud" of my child.

Since the early 1900s, the world celebrates International Women's Day each March. In the earlier years, there was not much to "celebrate." Today, there is. The past three decades have witnessed real progress towards gender equity.

If history is any guide, Congress will tinker with the President's language about the District before it approves a budget for the fiscal year. The residents of D.C. are watching closely to see which decisions of our elected officials will be overturned.

Aggressive plans to legalize death with dignity are underway in several other states. Most supporters -- this writer included -- believe it will only take a few more until the movement for compassion, autonomy and justice at life's end becomes a right to everyone in the U.S.

As a man who is also a feminist, I feel somewhat uncomfortable making the argument that the pro-choice movement needs more men. It reeks of "knight-and-shining-armor"-ism. But as with any social cause, this fight is ultimately about changing minds.

As we listened to Alem's story, the events of the week -- visiting urban and rural clinics, talking with both the country's Minister of Health and EngenderHealth fieldworkers, touring a bare-bones hospital that serves 2.5 million people -- suddenly became very personal.

Laws that restrict or deny access to reproductive health care procedures are openly discriminatory against women. How many lawmakers do you know who have dreamed up restriction after restriction after restriction to block men's access to vasectomy?

One might assume that to be religious is to be anti-choice -- and conversely, that one cannot be both a person of faith and a supporter of abortion care. But in reality, people of faith have long supported a woman's right to make the complex decision about whether to have a child.